Outdoor Plazas

Unlike many a city, Vancouver's great urban gathering places stand not at the center but on the periphery; the two seawalls, one at one end of Denman street by English Bay, the other at the other end of Denman by Coal Harbour, are the West Coast equivalent of an Italian piazza, the places where Vancouverites go to stroll and be seen. On warm sunny days, they're packed.

Designed by architect Arthur Erickson to be Vancouver's central plaza, Robson Square -- between Hornby and Howe streets from Robson to Smithe streets -- has never really worked. Though beautifully executed with shrubbery, cherry trees, sculptures, and a triple-tiered waterfall, the square suffers from a basic design flaw: It's sunk one story below street grade, and next to impossible to access. Just opposite Robson square, however, the steps of the Art Gallery are a great people place, filled with loungers, political agitators, and old men playing chess.

Just down the street a little Library Square -- at the corner of Robson and Homer streets -- is immensely popular with locals, and has been since it was built just 4 years back. People sit on the Coliseum-like steps, bask in the sunshine, read, harangue passersby with half thought-out political ideas, and generally seem to enjoy themselves.

Parks & Gardens

Park and garden lovers are in heaven in Vancouver. You can encounter raccoon families in the West End, go downhill or cross-country skiing in West Vancouver, spot bald eagles and peregrine falcons in Richmond, or observe tai chi masters in Chinatown. You can wander a Japanese garden and with the same ticket see one of the largest living botany collections on the West Coast up on the UBC campus. For general information about Vancouver's parks, call tel. 604/257-8400 or try www.parks.vancouver.bc.ca.

In Chinatown, the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden is a small, tranquil oasis in the heart of the city. On the West Side, Queen Elizabeth Park -- at Cambie Street and W. 33rd Avenue -- sits atop a 150m (492-ft.) high extinct volcano and is the highest urban vantage point south of downtown, offering panoramic views in all directions. It's Vancouver's most popular location for wedding-photo sessions, with well-manicured gardens and a profusion of colorful flora. There are areas for lawn bowling, tennis, pitch-and-putt golf, and picnicking. The Bloedel Conservatory (tel. 604/257-8584) stands next to the park's huge sunken garden, an amazing reclamation of an abandoned rock quarry. A 42m-high (138-ft.) domed structure, the conservatory houses a tropical rainforest with more than 100 plant species as well as free-flying tropical birds. Admission to the conservatory is C$3.95 (US$2.95) for adults and C$2.95 (US$2.20) for seniors and children. Take bus no. 15 to reach the park.

VanDusen Botanical Gardens (5251 Oak St., at W. 37th Ave.; tel. 604/878-9274; www.vandusengarden.org) is located just a few blocks from Queen Elizabeth Park and the Bloedel Conservatory. In contrast to the flower fetish displayed by Victoria's famous garden, Vancouver's 22-hectare (54-acre) botanical garden concentrates on whole ecosystems. From trees hundreds of feet high down to the little lichens on the smallest of damp stones, the gardeners at VanDusen attempt to re-create the plant life of an enormous number of different environments. Depending on which trail you take, you may find yourself wandering through the Southern Hemisphere section, the Sino-Himalayan garden, or the northern California garden where giant sequoias reach for the sky. Should all this tree gazing finally pall, head for the farthest corner of the garden where there lurks a devilishly difficult Elizabethan garden maze. Admission C$7 (US$5.25) adults, C$5 (US$3.75) seniors and youth 13 to 18, C$3.50 (US$2.65) children 6 to 12, C$17 (US$13) families, free for children under 6. Open daily 10am to dusk. Take bus 17.

Serious plant lovers will love the University of British Columbia. The prime attraction on the campus is the 28-hectare (69-acre) UBC Botanical Garden, 6804 S.W. Marine Dr., Gate 8 (tel. 604/822-4208), which boasts over 10,000 species of trees, shrubs, and flowers grouped into a B.C. Native garden, a physic (or medicinal) garden, a food garden, and several others. There's also an excellent plant and seed store. Nearby is the Nitobe Memorial Garden, 6565 NW Marine Dr., Gate 4 (tel. 604/822-6038), an exquisitely beautiful traditional Japanese garden. From early March to mid-October, both gardens are open daily from 10am to 6pm. Admission to the Botanical Garden is C$5 (US$3.75) for adults; C$2 (US$1.50) for seniors, students and youth; children under 6 are admitted free. Admission for Nitobe Memorial Garden is C$2.75 (US$2.05) for adults and C$1.75 (US$1.30) for seniors, students, and children 6 and older. A dual pass for both gardens is C$6 (US$4.50) for adults only. Free guided tours are offered at both gardens on Mondays and Wednesdays at 1pm, but pre-booking is essential. (If no one books the tour, guides don't show up). From October 5 to March 6, the Botanical Garden is open daily during daylight hours, while the Nitobe Memorial Garden is open Monday through Friday from approximately 10am to 2:30pm. Both gardens are free in the off-season period.

Out near UBC, Pacific Spirit Park (usually called the Endowment Lands) comprises 754 hectares (1,862 acres) of temperate rainforest, marshes, and beaches and includes nearly 35km (22 miles) of trails suitable for hiking, riding, mountain biking, and beachcombing. Across the Lions Gate Bridge, there are six provincial parks that delight outdoor enthusiasts year-round. Good in winter or for those averse to heavy climbing is the publicly maintained Capilano River Regional Park, 4500 Capilano Rd. (tel. 604/666-1790), surrounding the Capilano Suspension Bridge & Park. Hikers can follow a gentle trail by the river for 7km (4 1/2 miles) down the well-maintained Capilano trails to the Burrard Inlet and the Lions Gate Bridge, or about a mile upstream to Cleveland Dam, which serves as the launching point for white-water kayakers and canoeists.

The Capilano Salmon Hatchery, on Capilano Road (tel. 604/666-1790), is on the river's east bank about a half a kilometer (1/4 mile) below the Cleveland Dam. Approximately 2 million Coho and Chinook salmon are hatched annually in glass-fronted tanks connected to the river by a series of channels. You can observe the hatching fry (baby fish) before they depart for open waters, as well as the mature salmon that return to the Capilano River to spawn. Admission is free, and the hatchery is open daily from 8am to 7pm (until 4pm in the winter). Drive across the Lions Gate Bridge and follow the signs to North Vancouver and the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Or take the SeaBus to Lonsdale Quay and transfer to bus no. 236; the trip takes less than 45 minutes.

Eight kilometers (5 miles) west of the Lions Gate Bridge on Marine Drive West, West Vancouver, is Lighthouse Park. This 74-hectare (183-acre) rugged-terrain forest has 13km (8 miles) of groomed trails and -- because it has never been clear-cut -- some of the largest and oldest trees in the Vancouver area. One of the paths leads to the 18m (59-ft.) Point Atkinson Lighthouse, on a rocky bluff overlooking the Strait of Georgia and a fabulous view of Vancouver. It's an easy trip on bus no. 250. For information about other West Vancouver parks, call tel. 604/925-7200 weekdays.

Driving up-up-up the mountain from Lighthouse Park will eventually get you to the top of Cypress Provincial Park. Stop halfway at the scenic viewpoint for a sweeping vista of the Vancouver skyline, the harbor, the Gulf Islands, and Washington State's Mount Baker, which looms above the eastern horizon. The park is 12km (7 1/2 miles) north of Cypress Bowl Road and the Highway 99 junction in West Vancouver. Cypress Provincial Park has an intricate network of trails maintained for hiking during the summer and autumn and for downhill and cross-country skiing during the winter.

Rising 1,430m (4,690 ft.) above Indian Arm, Mount Seymour Provincial Park, 1700 Mt. Seymour Rd., North Vancouver (tel. 604/986-2261), offers another view of the area's Coast Mountains range. The road to this park roams through stands of Douglas fir, red cedar, and hemlock. Higher than Grouse Mountain, Mount Seymour has a spectacular view of Washington State's Mount Baker on clear days. It has challenging hiking trails that go straight to the summit, where you can see Indian Arm, Vancouver's bustling commercial port, the city skyline, the Strait of Georgia, and Vancouver Island. The trails are open all summer for hiking; during the winter, the paths are maintained for skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing. Mount Seymour is open daily from 7am to 10pm.

The Fraser River delta is south of Vancouver. Thousands of migratory birds following the Pacific flyway rest and feed in this area, especially at the 340-hectare (840-acre) George C. Reifel Bird Sanctuary, 5191 Robertson Rd., Westham Island (tel. 604/946-6980), which was created by a former bootlegger and wetland-bird lover. Many other waterfowl species have made this a permanent habitat. More than 263 species have been spotted, including a Temminck's stint, a spotted redshank, bald eagles, Siberian (trumpeter) swans, peregrine falcons, blue herons, owls, and coots. The Snow Goose Festival, celebrating the annual arrival of the huge, snowy white flocks, is held here during the first weekend of November. The snow geese stay in the area until mid-December. (High tide, when the birds are less concealed by the marsh grasses, is the best time to visit.) An observation tower, 3km (2 miles) of paths, free birdseed, and picnic tables make this wetland reserve an ideal outing spot from October to April, when the birds are wintering in abundance. The sanctuary is wheelchair accessible and open daily from 9am to 4pm. Admission is C$4 (US$3) for adults and C$2 (US$1.50) for seniors and children.

The Richmond Nature Park, 1185 Westminster Hwy. (tel. 604/718-6188), was established to preserve the Lulu Island wetlands bog. It features a Nature House with educational displays and a boardwalk-encircled duck pond. On Sunday afternoons, knowledgeable guides give free tours and acquaint visitors with this unique environment. Admission is by donation.